Sand Cars and assorted machines on the St. Anthony Sand Dunes

The Saint Anthony Dunes are remnants of the sandy shoreline of ancient Lake Terreton, carried here by prevailing winds over thousands of years. They are the most expansive sand dunes in the state, running for nearly twenty five miles, and covering about eleven thousand acres.

The abundance of shifting sand along with dunes rising up to five hundred feet high make this area an irresistible playground for motorized machines. The Saint Anthony Dunes are one of the rare wilderness study areas in the country that actually allows motorized recreation. Each year more people discover the appeal of traveling through the unique terrain, but some riders, like Denton Rumsey, have been motoring over these sands for decades.

I grew up around the dunes. They were there every day; they’ve been there every day for years… It’s wide open, it’s just you and the quad and the sand and it’s a whole other world, everything else just disappears. —Denton Rumsey, Saint Anthony Dune Riders

While motoring on the dunes is great fun for members of the SANDRS, they understand safety is always an important consideration. They say you need to know what you’re doing out on the dunes and that was one of the reasons they formed their club.

It’s very unique. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. It’s out in the middle of the sand with the buttes and the desert around it. It’s just captivating. It’s magical. You can stop in the middle of a ride and just look for an hour or two, look around you and time just slips away.—Denton Rumsey, Saint Anthony Dune Riders

Denton and the other local riders have a decades old tradition of enjoying the area. The Saint Anthony Sand Dunes have become an integral part of their life. For them, riding the rolling dunes is about as good as it gets.